Waiting for the Existential Punchline

Tomorrow it will be May, and graduation is fast approaching. My seniors and I just finished discussing Waiting for Godot, Beckett's masterpiece of existentialism. The girls spent most of the play looking at each other out of the corners of their eyes, as if to say, "Is it just me, or does this make no sense?" I love it, of course, because it focuses on the ultimate mystery, this existential play: should we hope, or should we despair?

On Friday I gave the girls one of my teachery sermons. There are few days left, I told them, and some of you have significant work missing. "Do not assume," said I rather pompously, "that because I am a good natured person you cannot fail senior English. It is not a matter of your teacher failing YOU, but YOU failing to do what was required." Blah blah. My yearly rant, I'm afraid, when the girls get lazy in their own existential rebellion.

Finally, looking at the zeroes on the sheet in front of me, I asked, "Seniors, I look at this missing work, and I wonder: what are you waiting for?"

Without missing a beat about five students piped, "We're Waiting for Godot!"

I had it coming, really. They actually coaxed a smile out of me. And now you know how to please an English teacher: you don't even have to READ a great work. Just say the name of it out loud to her so that she knows that you know it exists, and that might be enough to placate her for a short amount of time.

But tomorrow? It's back to sermonizing. And maybe some spouting of the poetry they're going to see on their graduation cards: Girls, two roads diverged in a wood . . .

Writer/Reader Challenge

There's a downside to writing, and to the writing life. I've always been a relatively sedentary person. Before I was a writer I was a reader, and even as a teen, my favorite sport was lying around and reading books--often whole books in one day.

Now I've graduated to writing books, which requires hours at a keyboard on a regular basis. When I'm not writing I often have to catch up with reading, both for business and pleasure. I'm a teacher, which means more reading and more computer time--handouts, tests, quizzes. Added to all of these tasks that require sitting, I enjoy watching television. We are a big tv family--we have our favorite sitcoms, and then we enjoy watching DVDs that we get from Netflix.

You get the idea. Both my husband and I have come to the realization, between looking at photos of ourselves and listening to stern warnings from our doctor, that we need to make some changes. We need to move, before our bodies freeze or fossilize, and we need to eat less fat. We're not thrilled about either of these things, but we've committed to make wiser decisions, to be more abstemious for the sake of health.

So I thought I'd extend the challenge to any blog readers out there. Who would like to join me for a one-month how-much-better-shape-can-you-get-in-by-April-17 challenge? We can support one another through those chocolate craving times, those times when we think "You know what would be fun? Sitting in this chair for hours."

By April 17 we'll know just how much self-discipline we have, and we can share tips with one another. Community support helps, and it's free (at least here it is).

And if we do well in that one month? It will encourage us, of course, to sign on for another month, and get used to the new habits that we're forming. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and all that.

Who's with me?

Most Common Resolutions for Mystery Writers

A quick perusal of the web tells me that the most common New Year's resolutions, year after year, have to do with weight loss, quitting smoking, spending quality time with family, getting out of debt, blah blah. Very predictable (even if a lot of them are the ones I made--AGAIN).

But mystery writers have a whole different set of resolutions that they make, I think, in their hearts. And that list would look something like this:

1. Write a new novel, and make sure this one is a bestseller.

2. Find John Grisham, befriend him, and then get a blurb from him.

3. Fawn over everyone in power in the publishing world.

4. Go to conferences and sparkle this time. Sparkle!

5. Arrange for a joint blog with Sue Grafton.

and finally:

6. Be realistic.

That's not too much to ask, is it?